I started this on NSX-T 2.5, since it was the current release at the time of writing this.
Considerations before starting are to check the installation requirements and if you have the resources to perform the installation, finally also to check if you are at a compatible level for installing. I will be doing the installation on my vSphere 6.7 u2 lab So lets go and check some compatibilities and requirements to make sure all is met. You might want to go and start the download of the ovf file also since it’s a nice 8.5 GB in side if you have not downloaded it already.
You can grab the ovf file from my.vmware.com and then check under products and find NSX-T.
You at the very least need the NSX Manager (first file) and I grabbed the NSX Edge for VMware ESXi and the Kernel Module for ESXi 6.7 also, just to have everything in the same version and ready if and when I need it.
What are these three files?
NSX Manager/NSX Cloud Service Manager for ESXi is the ova that contains the NSX manager and the required components to setup NSX-T on vSphere.
NSX Edge for VMware ESXi is the Edge appliance which you will need for having NSX edge applainces running in your environment.
The final file, NSX Kernel Module for VMware ESXi 6.7, is for manual installation to enable NSX. It is installed via the CLI when using an automated deployment on ESXi hosts.
Next, lets check out compatibility for NSX-T 2.5 and vSphere 6.7 u2, this is done using the VMware Product Interoperability Matrice. It is quite simple. You put your product or search for it in “select a solution” For example VMware vCenter Server in the first field and Vmware NSX-T Data Center in the second filter. You can select a version or leave it empty and the results should pop right up as seen below here:
It appears we are good to go with 2.5 on vSphere 6.7 u2. I checked it on ESXi also, not because I doubted it was ok but it pays off to check such things normally before running your head into a wall later and wondering why it does not work.
With that done next step is to check if we have enough resources, which is where I could face some fun in my lab (mainly with memory).
For NSX-T Manager the requirements are here
For NSX-T Edges VM systems the requirements are here
Final thoughts before starting the deployment. It is a good idea to make sure you have DNS setup and both have forward and reverse zones configured. It should already be the case since you most likely have a vCenter deployment. Also port requirements may be a theme. Click here for NSX Manager and here for NSX edges.
Also keep network and storage requirements in mind:
So with that done it is time to get started with the ova deployment.